Around the World in 10 Castles Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This Welsh castle began as a wooden motte-and-bailey affair in the 11th Century and this was replaced between 1293 and 1330 with the stone structure (pictured) that we see today. It was the birthplace of the future King Edward II, who was the first English heir apparent to be named Prince of Wales, a tradition that continues today. Where are we?

Answer: Caernarfon Castle

The royal town and port of Caernarfon in northwestern Wales lies across the Menai Straits from the Isle of Anglesey. Snowdonia National Park lies immediately to the east and southeast of the town. The castle itself is built near to site of Fort Segontium, which had been the most important Roman military base in this part of the country. Caernarfon Castle has not seen military action for more than three and a half centuries -- the Royalists who held the castle were besieged by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War in the 1650s.
The castle was twice used during the 20th Century for the investiture of the Prince of Wales: first for Edward son of George V (the future King Edward VIII) in 1911 and then for Charles son of Elizabeth II in 1969.
The combined "Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd" were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. These encompass the castles and town walls at Caernarfon and Conwy plus Beaumaris Castle and Harlech Castle.

2. Moving east into England now, the ruins of the 11th-Century Corfe Castle are on the Isle of Purbeck in which English county?

Answer: Dorset

The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula bordered by the English Channel, the River Frome and Poole Harbor in Dorset. Built during the reign of William the Conqueror, Corfe Castle was one of the first stone castles in England. A Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War, the castle was destroyed by order of Parliament in 1645 after it had finally fallen to a siege.
Now administered by the National Trust, Corfe Castle receives in the region of 200,000 visitors annually.

3. We head south into France now. Founded in the 9th Century and expanded to its current size in the 13th Century, at which castle in the Maine-et-Loire department could you see the 14th-Century masterpiece the Apocalypse Tapestry?

Answer: Chateau d'Angers

Commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou, the Apocalypse Tapestry was created between 1377 and 1382 by Jean Bondol and Nicholas Bataille. The oldest surviving medieval tapestry, it depicts the Apocalypse as told in the Book of Revelation.
Angers Castle (pictured at night) is located in the city of Angers, the pre-Revolution capital of Anjou province. It is now the administrative capital of the Maine-et-Loire department, although residents of the region are still known as Angevins, from the name of the former province.
The chateau itself was built in the 9th Century on the site of a former Roman fortification. The future King Charles VII took refuge here during the Hundred Years War. Catherine de' Medici had the castle restored as a fortress in the mid-1500s. Today, around 170,000 tourists visit the ch�teau annually.

4. We head south into Switzerland now, to the pictured ch�teau on the shores of Lake Geneva that became the home to the Count of Savoy in the 12th Century. Lord Byron made it famous with an 1816 poem about a 16th-Century monk who was imprisoned here. Where are we?

Answer: Ch�teau de Chillon

Located on an island just outside the city of Montreux at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, Chillon Castle dates back to the 11th Century. Today, it is the most visited historic monument in Switzerland.
The Byron poem is "The Prisoner Of Chillon", a tale about the Genevois monk Fran�ois de Bonivard, who was imprisoned here from 1530 until 1536. Byron himself also carved his name into one of the pillars in the dungeon.

5. We now travel east into Germany, to one of the world's most famous castles. Commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, it was one of the inspirations for the "Sleeping Beauty Castle" at Disneyland. Where are we?

Answer: Schloss Neuschwanstein

Schloss Neuschwanstein (New Swanstone Castle in English) is located on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau, near F�ssen in the Alpine foothills in southern Bavaria. Opened to the public immediately after King Ludwig's death in 1886, the castle today attracts more than 1.3 million visitors annually.

6. Continuing eastwards across Europe, we reach a castle that is more than 1,000 years old and is today the official residence of a nation's President. It is also the home of the National Gallery and the Crown Jewels, and an annual "Summer Shakespeare Festival" is held in the castle grounds. In which national capital are we?

Answer: Prague, Czech Republic

Prague Castle (pictured) stands in the Hradčany district of the Czech capital and dominates the city skyline. Over the centuries, the castle has been the seat of kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The Guinness Book of Records names it as 'the world's largest ancient castle'. The first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built here in 870. Within the next half century, the Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were added. King Charles IV built the Gothic royal palace here in the 1300s.

The last major rebuilding of the castle took place in the late 1700s under the Empress Maria Theresa.

7. The three towers of Rumelihisarı (pictured), which is also known as Rumelian Castle, would be an imposing welcome to anyone arriving at this city by sea. Built in the 1450s to control passing sea traffic, it is now a museum and a venue for open-air concerts and festivals. Which city are we now visiting?

Answer: Istanbul, Turkey

Located in the Sarıyer district on the European side of Istanbul, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II built Rumelian Castle to control sea traffic on the Bosphorus strait. The site had previously been occupied by a Roman fort and by a monastery. The name Rumelishisari means 'Fortress on the Land of the Romans'.
Today, the Bosphorus is spanned by the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge just to the north of the castle.

8. Moving east across Asia, we arrive at Chittorgarh Fort. Built in the 7th Century, it has an area in excess of 700 acres and is the largest fort in which former British colony?

Answer: India

Chittorgarh Fort is located in the south of the Indian state of Rajasthan, midway between Mumbai and Delhi. "The Hill Forts of Rajastan" (Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber and Jaisalmer Forts) were designed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. Built in the 7th Century by the Mauryans, the fort was looted and virtually destroyed by the army of Emperor Akbar in 1568.

It was never resettled but refurbishment work began in 1905. Today, tourists can see a complete reconstruction of the white-stoned Rani Padmini's Palace and the Kalika Mata Temple.

The Rana Kumbha Palace, the oldest monument on the site, though, is still in ruins.

9. The resistance to the British expedition of the early 1900s led to the town of Gyantse and its fortress, built high on the cliffs above the town in the late 1300s, to be known as "Hero City". Where in Asia can you visit this castle?

Answer: Tibet

Gyantse Dzong (or Gyantse Fortress) perches high in the mountains above the town of Gyantse in Shigatse Prefecture in southern Tibet at just over 13,000 feet above sea level (more than two and a half time higher than Denver CO). During the 'Cultural Revolution' of the late 1960s, the fort and the historic monastery nearby were both ransacked and looted.
The barbarism of British forces who attacked the city in 1903-04 is today remembered by a small museum inside the fort.

10. Dating to 1440, this castle in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan claims to be the country's oldest surviving castle. Unique in Japan in that it was privately owned, it was seized by the Japanese government in the late 1800s and is now designated as a 'national treasure'. Where are we finishing this first leg of our world tour of castles?

Answer: Inuyama Castle

Inuyama Castle is one of twelve surviving castles in Japan that were built before the Tokugawa period (1603-1867). Built in 1440, it claims to be the oldest of the twelve. The center of power for the the Matsudaira clan throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries, the castle was seized by the government during the Meiji Restoration and the abolition of the han system, although the end result was that the clan became part of the 'new nobility' within the country. Attractions for visitors to Inuyama Castle today include the Inuyama Artifacts Museum and the Karakuri Exhibition Room, which include many cultural and historical artifacts of the city and the surrounding region.

Source: Author EnglishJedi

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Come along on a photographic journey of ten notable castles, many of them from medieval times and beyond. We start this tour in Europe and Asia and will cover the rest of the world in the next installment.

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